The Non-fungible token (NFT) of the original arrest warrant of former South African President, Nelson Mandela has raised the sum of $130,550 in an auction sale which is targeted at funding a heritage site that would document the country’s struggle for democracy.
The sales, which according to Ahren Posthumus, CEO of Momint – the company where the NFT was sold revealed that the reserve price of the document at the Saturday night auction in Cape Town was 900,000 rand (S$83,267), but the non-fungible tokens or NFT, “sold for 1.9 million (US$130,550) through a buyer online.
Posthumus added that the proceeds from the auction sales will go towards the Liliesleaf Museum Heritage Site which received the original document in 2004 as a donation.
The former South African president was a part of the anti-apartheid movement and was arrested in 1962 for conspiring to overthrow the White-minority government. He then became the first black president, May 10th, 1994 after spending 27 years in prison. Also, the Liliesleaf farm was used as the secret headquarters of the African National Congress from 1961 where Mandela and other party leaders hid from authorities.
Speaking further on the deal, Posthumus said the deal is a way to revitalize their flow and keep history alive.
He said, “the deal will help the museum sites stay afloat as they have been badly affected by the lack of tourism due to Covid”.
“The buyer to the NFT will also have exclusive access to the original document at Liliesleaf Museum, noting that the ink is visible through the paper of the high-definition scan”, he added.
The deal is a follow-up to the $50,000 auction of an NFT of a pen gun owned by fellow freedom fighter, Oliver Tambo in 2021.
